After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The night wind swept across the wreckage, the stench of blood and burnt bone meal mingling together, making one's nostrils ache.

Zhou Ran stood at the entrance of the collapsed manor, his divine sense spreading outwards for dozens of miles, pinpointing the source of the aura under the abandoned overpass on the outskirts of the city.

cold.

It was so cold it chilled me to the bone.

That wasn't ordinary yin energy; it was the chill emanating from the orthodox authority of the underworld.

The outer layer was also covered with a layer of nauseating filth and resentment, so sinister it was black.

Zhou Ran was all too familiar with this resentment.

That crazy woman who wants everything, tries to have it all, and then throws dirty water on him when things go wrong.

Su Xiaoxiao.

Now, things have gotten even worse. He's put on the skin of a powerful figure in the underworld and transformed into a vicious ghost that bites people.

Black and gold Asura Demon Flames surged in Zhou Ran's eyes, and the totem on Taihuang's left arm heated up, its killing intent causing the surrounding rubble to tremble slightly.

With just one step, given his current Golden Core of the Mind, he could reach the bridge arch within ten breaths.

But he had only just lifted his foot.

"cough……"

A very faint cough came from the ruins to the side and behind.

Zhou Ran stopped what he was doing.

The raised foot slowly returned to the ground, and the raging demonic fire in his eyes subsided, leaving only a layer of calm.

That vicious dog barking in the distance can be dealt with later.

What we really need to protect right now is the game we have right here.

When Ye Futian ruled the nine heavens of the Demon Realm, he once impulsively led a lone army deep into the Void Realm to pursue and kill his enemies.

As a result, the Demon Cave behind them was wiped out in one fell swoop, and the demons of the Three Heavens were all killed.

He himself almost met a tragic end due to his lack of strength.

That bloody lesson was already etched into Zhou Ran's memory.

He withdrew his imposing manner and turned to walk back into the ruins.

Chen Ya leaned against a broken Roman column, her left shoulder and elbow pierced by a deep, bone-revealing wound.

The edges of the wound were covered with grayish-white rotting flesh, and not much blood flowed out. Instead, death and poison gnawed at it from within.

The corpse poison left behind by the necromancer.

This thing specifically targets wood-type spiritual energy, biting into meridians and crawling towards the heart.

If Chen Ya hadn't been constantly manipulating the essence of the plants in the manor, he would probably have collapsed by now.

"Bear with it."

The primordial energy flowed into his palm, and the extremely yang and powerful force surged along his meridians, relentlessly sweeping away the gray-white corpse poison.

Chen Ya groaned, cold sweat dripping down her forehead, hitting the broken blue bricks.

She bit her lower lip until it bled, and her whole body was taut and pale, but she didn't flinch back an inch.

A few wisps of black smoke were forced out of the wound, carrying a foul, fishy smell.

Once the corpse poison dissipated, bright red blood finally flowed out, and the life force that had withered away was rekindled.

With a flick of his finger, Zhou Ran sent several wisps of Asura Demon Fire to the edge of the wound, burning away the rotten flesh, and then sealed several of her major acupoints.

"Go sit over there."

He let go of her hand and turned to the other side.

Xiao Hongli knelt on one knee on the ground, protecting the unconscious Su Qingling and Su Qingwu in her arms.

The two, already weakened, worked together to support the water curtain shield of the Tide Saint Body.

The spiritual core had been completely drained, the meridians had shrunk, and the aura was frighteningly weak.

Zhou Ran's face darkened, and he flicked out two top-grade Qi-replenishing pills, feeding them directly to the two sisters.

Immediately afterwards, he slapped both of their backs at the same time, drawing out the purest life force and forcibly keeping them alive until their last breath was gone.

Zhou Ran stopped, his tone still as firm as ever, but his words held no intention of backing down.

"The foundation had just been repaired last time, and this time we almost collapsed."

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and pressed on Su Qingling's shoulder, then paused for a moment before withdrawing his hand.

No one can take his woman away from him.

Xu Changsheng dragged his feet over, still clutching the antique pocket watch with its shattered dial in his hand, his old face showing the exhaustion of someone who had just escaped death.

He has lived for countless years, and his eyelashes are all empty.

But the murderous aura emanating from Zhou Ran that had sent chills down his spine was actually suppressed by him.

This characterization is more frightening than simply committing murder.

"Mr. Zhou."

Xu Changsheng coughed and wiped the blood from his chin.

"The outskirts of the city are quite eerie, unlike the work of those Western scum."

If left unchecked, the entire city of Jiangcheng will likely be drained of its population.

As he spoke, he stuffed the pocket watch into his pocket and straightened his hunched back.

"This old man's life is gone today."

"Since you're busy guarding the manor, why don't I go ahead and see what the new card is?"

Before Zhou Ran could speak, a gust of cold wind swept across the ground.

Two thousand years of extreme yin energy turned into a layer of icy blue mist, which rolled up the ruins from behind the manor.

Li Zhiyao walked up slowly.

She glanced towards the outskirts of the city, her brow furrowed with disgust.

"Go and investigate?"

Old man, you're tired of living.

Although she smiled radiantly, her tone carried the menacing air of a thousand-year-old vengeful ghost.

"I can recognize that taste even with my eyes closed."

The Eighth Court of the Underworld is shrouded in malevolent energy, and the area outside is also tainted by the malevolent spirit of the Black Impermanence.

Your old rules for reincarnators might fool ordinary people, but against that side, they're not even good enough to wipe your butt with.

Xu Changsheng was taken aback at first, then suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, I've lived to this age, I'm practically a wandering ghost, the thing I'm least afraid of is not having a complete corpse."

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Zhou Ran.

"Sir, someone has to find out the bottom of that new card."

"You should heal your wounds first, I'll go watch the door."

Zhou Ran stared at him for a couple of breaths, then flipped his hand and tossed over a jade slip engraved with defensive array patterns.

"Find out where we came from."

When faced with a dead end, crush it.

His words were plain, yet they set the tone directly.

"I don't want dead men to serve as loyal subjects."

Xu Changsheng caught the jade slip steadily, his casual expression vanished, and he nodded solemnly.

Just then, the heavy iron door to the basement was pushed open from the inside.

Qin San was shirtless, with a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his chest, clearly indicating that he was seriously injured.

"Boss."

Qin San lowered his head, his voice a little hoarse, but his voice was full of confidence.

"The underground extreme training ground has been fully arranged in terms of formations and loops."

The spirit stones are full and ready to be used at any time.

"it is good."

Zhou Ran looked up at the endlessly churning, deathly clouds in the sky, and suddenly stretched out his arms.

The oppressive aura of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator suddenly spread out, pressing down directly on the entire Xiao family manor, like a heavy iron curtain that completely enveloped the surroundings.

"The manor's array is completely sealed off. Without my order, not even a flying insect can get in, let alone a person."

After he finished speaking, he turned and glanced at the injured women.

"Take him down to the basement."

No one dared to ask any questions; they silently helped the wounded up and retreated towards the underground entrance.

Xu Changsheng glanced at Zhou Ran one last time, then turned and stepped out of the manor's dilapidated iron gate.

The moment their feet stepped out of the edge of the array's coverage, the night sky began to change.

A gentle breeze blew by, and a few withered yellow paper money fluttered down.

One of the paper money spun in the wind and, with a snap, stuck right to Xu Changsheng's forehead.

"What bad luck!"

Xu Changsheng looked around but found nothing amiss, not even a trace of yin energy.

He assumed it was just paper money being burned for an elder in the family.

He ripped it off and then disappeared into the night.